Rodi Ciziri

In connection with the military coup which took place in Turkey during the 1980s, my father and many other advocates of freedom of expression and equal rights were forcibly emigrated out of Turkey as political refugees. Despite having left the country, my father was still politically active regarding the Kurdish question. So it is quite safe to presume that that is where I inherited my passion for politics, as it was the main and only topic of conversation during every single meal of the day (and yes, it did eventually get boring…).

My parents moved to Sweden and settled in a multicultural suburb at the peripheral parts of Stockholm. This segregated bubble, which I’ve referred to as my home for the past 20 years, combined with the experiences complemented by my time at the UWC Red Cross Nordic have made me the person that I am today. Although we never had much in terms of materialistic things, I’ve always been a dreamer. I was that kid on the block who dreamt about going to college in the US, even though everyone used to laugh at the idea. They rightfully pointed out that I didn’t have the financial resources to back up such an operation, but that didn’t keep me from dreaming. And today I understand that it was nothing but that dream and a bit of luck that sent me on the right path which will hopefully lead to my final destination, wherever that may be.

At the age of 18 I was lucky enough to be granted entry to the United Word College Red Cross Nordic, which is also where I got to know the person that I refer to as ”myself” today. I discovered my passion for playing guitar and singing, reading books, discussing, longboarding, and eating noodles. While it’d be an injustice to try and describe my experience in this brief description, I’d like to quote my friend to try and give you an essence of it: ”UWC is a one-way ticket to getting to know the world, but most importantly yourself.” And to a very large extent – that’s exactly what happened.

I fell in love with the small interactive community that characterized a UWC school. Encompassed by gorgeous mountains and fjords, I used to daydream about spending another four years in a similar setting – and that’s where Lewis and Clark came in.

My name is Rodi Ciziri, and I’m a 20 year-old international student currently in pursuit of my bachelors degree in political science, and I’m hoping for an experience equivalent to, if not better than, my two years at UWC; along with more connections to make and more experiences to attain.